Entrepreneur Buys First Company

When Barry and Kelly Wendricks made the decision to purchase their first business, they turned to the Small Business Development Center in Green Bay to make sure they were making the right purchase. After researching various businesses and assessing their values, they purchased The Right Alignment Company, Inc., which specializes in industrial alignments services which primarily services the paper, printing, and converting industries.

This wasn’t their first experience with small businesses; prior to owning The Right Alignment Company, Barry Wendricks ran a small machine shop. “I had a lot of experience with small businesses, but not the financial side of things,” Wendricks said. “I was more on the operation side, dealing with customers, employees, and outside vendors.” Wendricks contacted business counselor Chuck Brys of the SBDC at UW-Green Bay to help him fill in the gaps and provide feedback on business decisions. “Just having another resource to bounce things off of, set up business projections and form balance sheets was very helpful,” Wendricks said. “We found a lot out about the business, the taxes involved and what sales you need to get to have a profit in the end. Getting it on paper was very helpful.”

Even after purchasing the company, Wendricks continued to use Brys as a resource when making big business decisions. When Wendricks found himself facing a decision to buy a new piece of equipment, he contacted Brys to weigh the costs and benefits. “When we purchased the new piece of equipment, we had to do some cost justification and profit loss,” Wendricks said. “We had to see where we were at to justify purchasing the equipment for the business.” In the four years since purchasing The Right Alignment Company, Wendricks said the company has grown 15 percent nearly every year. “Being able to consult with Chuck was huge,” Wendricks said. “He has a lot of knowledge on the financial side of business and he worked in the private sector so his customer base was very similar to ours.”

Wendricks said he plans to continue working with the SBDC until retirement and utilizing what the state has to offer small business owners. “Twenty years from now Kelly and I will be looking at selling the business and someone will be in the same position as we were.”